A RECENT survey has discovered that four of the eight new ponds created across National Trust properties in South Somerset are now home to young Great Crested Newts, Tom Pickering writes.

The ponds, which were created last year as part of a project to enhance habitat for local wildlife, are also home to amphibians, including frogs and palmate newts.

The Great Crested Newts, occasionally referred to as “cresties”, can be found at Tintinhull Garden, Lytes Cary Manor, and Montacute House.

It is possible to see a few of the ponds at Lytes Cary Manor, situated near Somerton, by following the purple and red waymarked trails through the estate.

The ponds at Tintinhull Garden are in the orchard adjacent to the formal garden, and at Montacute House they can be found in the fields east of the main parkland.

By working together, the National Trust Rangers and Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West (FWAG SW) Officers have created ponds designed to provide the perfect habitat requirements for the newts to thrive.

Large hibernacula, a shelter occupied during the winter by a dormant animal, have been constructed alongside each pond as the newts enter a hibernation-like state during the winter.

The ranger team have also sown wildflower seed near the ponds to encourage insects that the newts will eat.

Mark Musgrave, Lead Ranger in South Somerset National Trust, said: “We are delighted to discover that only one year after the ponds were created newts have moved in and started to breed.”